As a fan of Jen DeLuca’s Renaissance Faire set Well Met series, it wasn’t a difficult decision to want to read whatever she put out next – in this case, Haunted Ever After, the first in her Boneyard Key series. Now, admittedly, I didn’t read the blurb for the book before I started reading it, so I assumed it was going to be a contemporary romance with a supposedly haunted house or some such. But no, it’s a full on paranormal romance with real ghosts, and a storyline with surprisingly deep meaning that had me hooked from the start.

Cassie Rutherford has left the big city of Orlando to settle in the small coastal town of Boneyard Key, having purchased a historic seaside home that’s been recently renovated. It’s a quaint town that clearly is cashing in on its ghost story history, with quirky shop names, and an evening ghost-themed walking tour that happens to include her house. When the electrical outlets in her home inexplicably won’t charge her laptop – needed for her remote job – she ends up at the Hallowed Ground coffee shop where she meets grumpy but good-looking owner Nick Royer.

Despite a little first meeting testiness, when Nick hears about Cassie’s electrical problems he hooks her up with a local electrician, who finds no problem with the power. But it’s a recurring problem, leading Cassie time and time again back to the coffee shop, its owner, and his delicious banana bread (plus he makes her drinks perfectly). When other inexplicable things start to happen in her house, and Cassie finds out that the former coffee shop owner Nick is constantly texting with is, in fact, an actual ghost, she is willing to keep an open mind and accept that ghosts are real, at least in this place. But as her relationship with Nick deepens, will forces beyond their control tear them apart?

I think this is the first time I’ve read a paranormal romance where the main couple characters are completely human but some of the secondary characters are not. And it’s not set in a world of ghosts and vampires etc., but there’s literally just this one town in Florida that has ghostly residents that most outsiders believe is just for tourist kicks. However the residents of the town, the descendants of the original people who settled there, firmly believe in the ghosts and have real interactions with them. Cassie experiences this first hand as she finds out (through the ghost walking tour) that her house is inhabited by the spirit of an old lady who used to chase kids out of her yard and that it’s the reason the house was vacant for so long. When the magnet words that she has on her fridge start to rearrange themselves into messages for her, (and once she gets over the shock), she decides to learn more about this lady and uncovers information that puts a whole new light on the past.

As for Nick, he has a ghost living in his apartment, the original owner of the coffee shop. He doesn’t see him, but he communicates with him through texts on his phone – which always come from an unknown number – but they have full on conversations together. Nick’s previous girlfriend left him and the town for newer pastures, making him reluctant to get into another relationship. He’s fine with one-night stands with tourists, but he has no intention of ever leaving Boneyard Key, so while he likes Cassie a lot, he’s hesitant to get too involved, believing that at some point she’ll leave. And then there are the problems he encounters when he tries to enter Cassie’s house, a place that clearly doesn’t want him around. While that initially drives them apart, diving into the mystery will eventually lead to a new understanding, a closer relationship, and a satisfying happy ending.

There are some interesting secondary characters, including the ghosts, and I’m really looking forward to reading more about this place, its history, and the people who live and lived there. Haunted Ever After, with its combination of contemporary romance and ghostly mysteries is a winner.